I’ve realised that many of the posts I’ve written have been critiquing something (I always knew I had the makings of a lawyer). The British are often considered to have a rather negative outlook. So I’ve decided that I’d like to share more optimistic stories and ideas on here. But…..
…I can’t resist by sharing my observations on encouraging a more positive approach. Within psychology there has been increasing interest in looking at people at their best rather than people as dysfunctional. Martin Seligman, for example, is well known for his work in Positive Psychology. We even have techniques designed to work with the positive such as Appreciative Inquiry and Solutions-Focused coaching.
In practice I have found it a continuing challenge to shift people’s focus. When facilitating project reviews, for example, I used to start by asking ‘What went well?’ but inevitably there would be silence and then someone would say ‘Well communication was ok but..’. In the end, I switched it round and asked ‘What didn’t go well?’ to which there would be immediate answers. Once people had ‘vented’ their frustrations, then I found that they could focus on what went well.
When asking people to give feedback about themselves I’ve also found that they leap into the negative. And often the positives come out as rather wishy washy statements.
So, are we programmed to look for the problems first? If we see the problems as potential threats to our survival, it would make sense to want to deal with those first, before we can relax. Or maybe this is just a British thing? Do other cultures, such as those where people value ‘saving face’, have different experiences?
What do you think?
Happiness coaches are part of the great conspiracy that began some 20 years ago when CEO’s , hedge fund managers and bankers discovered if they outsourced jobs to China and India it would increase the bottom line and they would all get rich. If they could not outsource they discovered another way. They terminated half the workforce and piled the work on those who remained. They followed this by bringing in the happy coaches to put smiles on these overworked underpaid miserable employees. Remember “smile or your fired”. These executives, bankers and hedge fund managers who took over the once proud manufacturing industry in America and broke it up, outsourced the work or shipped entire factories offshore for obscene profits while destroying the lives of millions of employees don’t need happy coaches. I wonder why?
Read—
http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Negative-Influence-of-by-william-czander-091020-724.html
Hello William
Thanks for your comment and apologies for taking so long to reply. I read your article and found it very interesting. I think there is some value in taking a positive approach – otherwise life really would be miserable and we would overlook what works. I agree with your concerns about the rise of positive thinking, laws of attraction and a focus on employee engagement that is motivated by profit and not because we care. I wonder how we develop societies that are based on genuine collaboration and support, rather than competition and achievement of the few. Are we destined to destroy ourselves in a frenzy of spending and a desire to have what everybody else has?